During the production of dental prostheses, the dental technician obtains an impression of the oral cavity and surroundings, usually of the toothless of partially anodont jaw. A plaster cast is prepared therefrom. This master cast is used for making one or several working casts. According to the conventional method, the artificial teeth are set in wax on the working cast and the wax is later replaced by synthetic prosthetic base material.
To be able to select and set the artificial teeth, the dentist and dental technician need to take various measurement parameters from the patient and from the master cast. At present, this is done by means of different items of assistive equipment which ought to be in existence at the place of work. These include the following commercially available equipments:
A Papilla Meter is utilized for the determination of the length of the upper lip, as disclosed by Horst Gründler in “Die Totalprothese IV”. Grundwissen für Zahntechniker (“The total prosthesis IV”, Basic knowledge for the dental technician), Vol. 4, p. 71, Neuer Merkur Verlag; edition: 2. 2004. One of the manufactures producing a Papilla Meter is Candulor). The instrument is used for the determination of measurements unique to the lip closure line in conjunction with the length of the upper lip. The length of the front teeth is dependent upon the lip closure line. The lip length is first measured which enables determining the length of the front teeth.
The same publication discloses an Alameter, see Horst Gründler, p. 70. The Alameter is used for determining the tooth shape. Candulor, also produces the Alameter. The Alameter serves as assistive equipment for assessing the matching tooth shape of the patient by the dentist. After measuring the width of the nose, the approximate width of the tooth shape which suits the face of the patient is calculated. This contributes to a harmonious image of the patient with his/her tooth replacement.
Also knows are transparent measuring grids, usually in the shape of a circular disk (part of a diagnostic tools according to Korkhaus) for determining symmetries and for measuring.
Also used is a set square for finding symmetries and taking pertinent measures.
There are several angle gauges, i.e. for determining critical measurements, such as                for finding the stop line=22.5°,        for indicating the cross-bite<=80° (interalveolar connecting line, jaw ridge connecting line),        as perpendicular to the chewing surface=90°,        in addition=45°,        finally, as a reference to the oral inclination of the lower jaw side teeth when setting the premium teeth in accordance with TiF=4°.        
Also, a flexible ruler is used for measuring lengths/distances, front dental arch lengths etc. (max. 100 mm).
A sliding gauge is used for measuring single tooth edentulous spaces within a range of 3.2 mm (⅔ of the smallest tooth width) and 13.0 mm, with an accuracy of 1/10 mm.
In certain cases, determination devices known to the expert such as Merz Artegral 9° or Integral 6° have also proved successful.
In view of this described diversity, the invention provides a measuring instrument simple to handle and yet capable of providing multiple measuring parameter.